Portable laptop computers permit people to do work out of the normal office environment. Laptop computers are typically stored and transported in a carrying case. Although some places have tables, desks and the like to set the computer on when working, in many places, such as airports, a ready working surface is not easily found. Therefore, many people use their laps to support the laptop computer while working from a seated position. In balancing the laptop computer with its keyboard on the lap, a person tends to keep the thighs closed and the shoulders stooped forward. The former results in an elevation of temperature in the scrotal area, contributing to lower sperm count in men, and the latter in a stiff thoracic spine contributing to back ache. Further, radiation (e.g. heat and electric and magnetic fields) generated by laptop computers can be uncomfortable and hazardous to health.
It would be beneficial to have a support device for supporting a laptop computer on a person's lap. Such a device ideally fits within the carrying case with the computer, is light and robust, is easy to set up and take down, is comfortable to use, helps to improve the sitting posture and protects the person from radiation generated by the computer. Prior art supports fall short on one or more of these requirements.
The use of wedge-shaped supporting devices is common in the art. However, prior art support devices of this nature either cannot be adjusted to lose the wedge-shape or rely on some kind of hinge system to collapse down. In the former, the support cannot be stored along with the computer in the computer's carrying case. In the latter, the hinge system is complicated to use or is prone to breaking thereby detracting from the convenience or utility of the support.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,652 issued Oct. 23, 2001 is a representative example of the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,652 discloses a laptop computer support comprising three or more hinged panels. While presenting some desirable features, the support disclosed in this patent requires “living hinges” to connect the three panels. Such an arrangement requires that either one of the support panels be smaller than the other thereby providing less working supporting surface, or the presence of a fourth hinged panel which results in a thicker profile making it more difficult to store the support in the laptop carrying case. In addition, the “living hinges” limit the construction material to plastic, therefore embodiments that also protect against radiation cannot be made easily. In addition, “living hinges” are prone to breaking with time and use, which would destroy the usefulness of the support.
There remains a need in the art for a portable laptop computer support that is convenient, simple and comfortable to use, is robust and portable and fits within the carrying case of the laptop computer, and protects a person from the harmful effects of radiation generated by the computer.